I hadn’t expected this kindness from him.
At the same time, I wasn’t stupid. I knew if I accepted his bargain, I’d signed up for whatever it was he wanted to do with me. On the other hand, he hadn’t broken a single promise to me yet. He was a man of his word.
“Promise me,” he said once more.
“All right,” I said, looking into his eyes. “I promise.”
We arrived back at Dorian’s estate. Before he even opened the door, I dreaded seeing Ainsley. After ditching her in line at the bathroom, there was little doubt in my mind she’d be pissed. I seriously didn’t have the energy to deal with her.
Dorian closed the front door behind us. “Glad you decided to stay here for a little bit longer.”
I looked at him and narrowed my eyes. “Dick. It’s not like you’re giving me much of a choice. Anyway, I think you like having me here. You just don’t want to admit it.”
Without a word, Dorian stepped close to me. Slipping his arms around my waist, he tugged me close to him with a firm pull. “What I feel for you goes way beyond liking, woman.”
Damn. I thought I’d convinced myself that I had control over the way my body reacted to him. But no sooner did he grind against me than liquid fire raged through my veins. Every inch of my body went hot, all my senses going into overdrive.
Get it under control, Tempest. Jesus Christ.
I never had the chance. Dorian lunged for my lips like a hungry predator. God, the feel of his satin mouth pressing hard against mine nearly brought me to my knees right there in the foyer. His tongue dipped inside, exploring and driving the need sweltering between my thighs to the point of no return.
Everything that happened, all the craziness from earlier, receded from my mind like a gentle tide lapping at the shore. I felt myself slipping away into an uncontrollable fit of desire. Reaching between his legs, I grabbed for his huge cock.
“Fuck…” Dorian moaned.
“That’s right,” I whispered. “Fuck me. Right now.”
In a flash, Dorian wrapped his hands around my waist, squeezing and lifting me in the air at the same time. Pressing my back against the wall, he held me off the ground and grabbing two fistfuls of my evening gown, started to tug it up my thighs.
All the while, we grunted and kissed and moaned.
I couldn’t wait to feel him inside of me again. The need overwhelmed me. He grabbed my thong, hooking his fingers inside of the band with aggression. My mind raced. Seconds separated my desire from the fulfillment I craved.
“God dammit, fuck me,” I begged. “Fuck me!”
Dorian grumbled his approval and started to expose me when all of a sudden, the sound of someone clearing their throat riveted my attention. Dorian froze in place, turning his head in the direction of the sound as well.
There, at the top of the stairs stood Ainsley.
Of. Fucking. Course.
“Shit,” Dorian whispered in my ear, lowering me to the floor.
While he did, Ainsley sauntered down the stairs, clearly pleased with herself. I had no doubt this was only the beginning of my punishment.
Dorian looked down at me. “We can finish this later. I think you two need to hash things out.”
With no hesitation, I replied. “I don’t want to.”
Dorian nodded at me. “I know, just try.”
With that, he turned away from me and started to walk up the stairs, meeting Ainsley about halfway. He stopped and leaned into her, whispering something in her ear.
“Whatever,” she replied, her tone snippy and full of frustration.
While this was going on, I made my way towards the bottom of the stairwell. Dorian continued up, disappearing at the top. Eventually, Ainsley wound up on the final stair.
“I just came down here to get something,” she began, flipping her hair away from her face. “I would say ‘‘welcome back’ but well, you know…”
She stepped off the last stair and faced me, one hand on her hip and her lips pursed. “Dorian tells me you feel bad about what you did. Do you? Or do you just feel bad now that you’re back here after he tracked you down? There’s a difference, you know.”
Jesus.
“What do you want me to say, Ainsley?”
She scoffed at me. “Honestly? It doesn’t even matter. It’s not like we’re friends anyway.”
No sooner did she finish that insult then she tried to walk past me bumping her shoulder against mine.
“Hey! Watch it.”
Ainsley turned around. “No, you need to watch it! Dorian may want you here, but I don’t. You’ve been treated incredibly well since you’ve been here – protected, cared for and how do you show your appreciation to my brother? You run out on him during a show, go to the police station and report to them you’ve been kidnapped and are being held against your will!”
This was it. She’d come out with all guns blazing.
“Hey,” I snapped, interrupting her. “You may not like to hear it, but that’s the truth and…”
Ainsley held her hand in front of my face. The gesture caught me by surprise.
“Then,” she continued, her tone sharp. “My brother calls in a special favor to get your dad brought to the police station to see you. Yet, somehow, he’s still the dick in this scenario.”
Wait. What?
I narrowed my eyes at her. “How did you know about that?”
A withering exhale sputtered from her lips. “How do you think? Dorian… He tells me everything.”
I had to assume by everything that she meant everything. However, after the show he and I put on a few minutes earlier downstairs, it’s not like what was going on with us was some big secret. Still, hearing those words from her mouth embarrassed me, hell, made me angry. But before I could say anything, she kept right on going, stunning me with the next words out of her mouth.
“I think…” she began, crossing her arms in front of her body, “you owe me an apology.”
I almost laughed. Like literally, I almost laughed right in her face.
“What! Why would I apologize to you?”
She completely ignored me. It was pretty obvious she had an agenda, a score to settle with me after what happened that night.
“And,” she continued, leaning towards me, “you also need to apologize to Dorian. I’ve never seen him act towards any other woman like he does with you. If you’re smart, you’d realize it and quit acting like you have been. He has a tremendous amount of patience, but only to a point. Don’t blow it. There’s no shortage of women who would kill to trade places with you.”
Every square inch of my body went wild with heat. Only, it wasn’t the kind Dorian stirred in me. It was the kind of fire you need when it’s time to get violent. That wasn’t me, not under normal circumstances. But then again, I’d never met anyone like her before. Meanwhile, Ainsley just stood there, arms crossed at her chest, presumably waiting for her fucking apology.
“Well?” she said, cocking her head to one side.
I swear I started to sweat. It was that bad. “Well what?”
“Uh, I’m waiting.”
I scoffed at her. “So? You’re going to have to keep on waiting because I’m not apologizing to you. What happened tonight had nothing to do with you, so don’t try and make it about yourself.”